


Tainted Water, Purified

by Leonidas1754



Category: RWBY
Genre: JNP play a very minor part, M/M, Or at least more positive, That later become sort of healthy, Unhealthy Relationships, ventfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 22:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13133508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonidas1754/pseuds/Leonidas1754
Summary: Even Ren needs a way to vent. Unfortunately, his tactics have never been the healthiest, especially when Mercury comes around to help out. Eventually, though, the two toxins seem to cancel each other out, leaving something better behind.





	Tainted Water, Purified

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written as a ventfic to help me work myself out of a really bad mood, but of course, since it's me, it's got a happy ending. Hope you enjoy.

Sometimes, he just needed to tear something apart.

The burn of strained muscles, the rush of adrenaline, the pain of each blow. Ren hated it, but there were times when he needed it like he needed to breathe. Being his team’s emotional punching bag and Nora damage control was a role he was happy to take, but that didn’t mean it didn’t take its toll on him. He needed his own outlet, and it came in the form of blood and pain and lungs burning with every breath as he stares someone in the eyes and aches for the pain.

It didn’t used to be like this.

Ren had always used physical strain as his outlet, he’d never known any other way. He’d sneak down to the training grounds in the middle of the night and work himself to the point of collapse. And the next morning, he’d be exhausted, and he’d blame it on late night studying, or a bad night of sleep. And, whether they believed him or not, they’d let it go.

And then, Mercury found him.

He’d offered a more satisfying punching bag than any training dummy, and he actually hit back. Ren learned to hide bruises and cuts under his clothing, bandaging them when Aura wasn’t enough to heal, when he didn’t have enough Aura left over for healing. They refrained from the face, for that was harder to hide, but everything else was fair game. They traded blows and bruises and adrenaline-filled words that felt like acid from Ren’s lips but it felt so good.

Ren got some sort of sick satisfaction from slamming him against the floor and tearing his nails down Mercury’s chest, angry, bloody trails in their wake. It felt good to push himself to the brink, to let the other rip into him and to return the favor, no matter how much it hurt the next morning.

They didn’t talk outside of it. They didn’t even look at one another outside it. Ren didn’t know who Mercury was, he didn’t care who he was, to Ren, he was an outlet, a broken person who needed the pain as much as he did. He doubted he mattered to Mercury either. They didn’t matter to one another, they didn’t care. At least, that was what he’d thought.

“This isn’t good for you, you know.”

Ren blinked up at Mercury as the adrenaline haze cleared a bit. He was pinned on his back, one arm trapped under him as Mercury held the other above his head. There was a metal knee over his waist and Mercury’s other hand on his throat. “What?”

Mercury’s gaze was unreadable as he repeated himself. “This isn’t good for you. Why do you keep doing this?”

“Because I need it.” It was truth, just as much as all they did to one another. He knew perfectly well how bad this was for him, like some twisted addiction. “What about you? This isn’t good for you either.”

Mercury gave a twisted smile. “This is the least of the shit I’m in. If anything, it offers a good break from it all, and a chance to… get something I want.”

“And what’s that,” Ren said with a soft shiver. There was something different in Mercury’s eyes now, and for the first time, Ren wondered what he’d gotten into.

Mercury’s hand pulled away from where it was wrapped around his throat. It reached up and cradled his cheek before Mercury leaned down and kissed him hard. And that was a revelation in and of itself. Of not only what Mercury wanted, but what Ren wanted too. And it ached and tore and their bodies fit so perfectly together in a sick mess of pain and pleasure.

The only thing that surprised Ren was that Mercury didn’t seem to want more.

They fell into a new pattern after that. They fought and beat and bled and when one had finally pinned the other, they kissed until their lips were as bloody and bruised as the rest of them, and then they’d simply lay together and feel the other breathe. Ren knew well enough this was bad for the both of them. But it also felt like escape, from his team, his friends, from expectations to be what he needed them to be, to be calm and rational and beautiful and skilled. He didn’t know what Mercury was escaping from. He didn’t ask.

One night, Ren broke.

It was a normal night, as far as normal could be for them, but it just wasn’t enough. He was on his knees, chest heaving, and Mercury stopped because he could tell something was wrong. Ren didn’t know when he’d fallen into this toxic desire, this vile excuse for love, but he did, and it ached like a taijitu had crawled into his chest and strangled his heart. And he cried.

Mercury looked just as lost as Ren felt. But even still, he pulled the other into his arms and simply held him as Ren pressed close and sobbed.

“... We should stop this,” Mercury eventually murmured in his ear. 

Ren laughed bitterly. “I don’t know if I could quit you, even if I wanted to.”

“This is going to destroy you.”

“Maybe it’s what I need.”

Ren pulled away, looking him in the eye as Mercury frowned. “... You know something? I used to love seeing you raw and burning. But this… I hate it. And I don’t know why.”

Ren couldn’t help himself. He laughed, feeling like he was choking on bile and blood. “It hurts so badly,” he agreed, “but I don’t want it to stop. I don’t want to stop seeing you.”

“Then maybe we should stop fighting each other.” Mercury reached up, tracing a finger over Ren’s lips. “Maybe… We should do something else.”

Ren paused, then leaned in and kissed him. His first impulse was to be hard, to fight and bite and bruise, but he held himself back. Mercury kissed him back and held him close, and Ren felt himself getting a different kind of drunk.

So they continued to fight. They hit and bruised and bit and at the end, they pulled each other up, and they kissed. And it helped, in a strange way. They got out whatever demons they needed to, and they healed one another. And slowly, there was less and less time fighting, and more time holding one another, more time kissing, more time talking. And Ren knew he was still addicted, but he didn’t mind. It felt good either way.

He didn’t sneak out at night so often. Instead, they spent time in the daylight, sparring and walking and visiting places they liked. And gradually, it felt less and less like self-destruction, and more and more like some warmth Ren couldn’t place.

He figured it out one day, when he and Mercury were hiding in the JNPR closet because they still weren’t out to their friends yet and weren’t sure if they wanted to be public about their weird relationship and really it was silly and stupid but Mercury’s arms were around his waist and his face pressed to Ren’s hair as they waited and listened for them to leave and it was so perfect Ren started laughing, muffling himself in the other’s shoulder.

Mercury looked down in confusion. “Ren?” he whispered softly.

Ren looked up, hand clamped over his mouth for a few moments longer before he could whisper out his own truth. “I love you.”

Mercury looked at him in shock, and of course, someone opened the door, causing them both to fall on the floor while Pyrrha stared at them in shock and confusion. Ren could only imagine how they looked, which just made him laugh even more while Mercury seemed completely lost.

“Uh… Ren? Why are you hiding with some guy in our closet?” Nora asked, peering over at them.

Ren sat up in Mercury’s lap, shaking his head as he quelled his laughter. “Er… This is my boyfriend. Surprise?” A few more giggles escaped him at their baffled expressions.

Mercury himself looked pretty surprised, and Ren supposed he couldn’t blame him. They’d never really put a name to their relationship, and seeing as Ren had quite literally just confessed his love, his mind must be reeling.

It was crazy and stupid but he pulled Mercury up and into a kiss, firm and sweet. Mercury kissed back, smiling against Ren’s lips and holding him close.

“So long as I’m not walking in on you two making out all the time, you do whatever makes you happy.” Jaune sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated.

“I make no promises,” Mercury said with a grin as he broke the kiss. Then, he added more quietly, “Never saw this coming when I first started fighting you.”

“Me either,” Ren admitted. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and as always, please leave a comment, they mean a lot to me.


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